For The Love of Christopher
by smartkid37
Summary: One telephone call impacts the life of one of the team in a way that he couldn't ever imagine. Faced with the heartbreak of letting something precious go, he faces a fight to keep what is truly his and finds out what the true meaning of family really is.
1. Chapter 1

**Co-Written by Shelbylou - for the "Family" and the "I'll Be There For You" Challenges on NFA Community**

**Episode Tag: **_Ice Man & Designated Target**  
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_A/N: This is pure fiction and not written with any actual knowledge of how the foster care system works. _

_It is not meant to be a judgment or a criticism of anyone or any similar situation. _

_Here's hoping you'll sit back and enjoy it for the pure fiction that it was meant to be._

* * *

><p><em>Feb. 09, 2009<br>_

Anger. That's what he was feeling. He could feel it bubbling beneath his skin, making his blood boil hot with the situation. Oh, yeah! He was definitely angry. In fact, he'd never felt more angry in his entire life than he did at this moment. No, that wasn't true. _That_ moment had come earlier in the weekend and by now he was at least calm enough to maintain just enough rational thought to get through the next moment…and then the next…to remember he had to go to work...to get dressed for work and to take the Metro Transit to the job he loved because he had no business behind the wheel feeling like this. After all, angry he might be but reckless or stupid he was not. He couldn't risk getting into an accident because his rational thoughts had abandoned him leaving this horrible lava river of rage in its wake. That was the kicker, the fact that all rational thought had abandoned him and left him high and dry for days now. It wasn't him on a normal day but what could he do? Everyone had a point by which a situation was simply too much to bear, causing them to cave in to the emotions that came with it. Tim was no different.

Thankfully, he'd held onto that sliver of his normal, reasonable mindset and it was enough to get him to work safely and technically on time, even if it was later than when he usually arrived. Something told him this day was not gonna get any better and his gut stirred at the thought of the crap hitting the fan time and time again. With a sigh, he stepped into the elevator and inspected the floor around his feet. _Nope_. The voice in his head taunted, _Chances are that this peaceful ride in the elevator all by yourself is as good as you're gonna get for the next 10 hours or so, so you'd better enjoy these moments while they last._

Unsettled and still fuming, he stepped off the elevator as it stopped on his floor. He could already feel his nerves stretching tighter and tighter and wondered fleetingly when they would give; what would be the breaking point. He stormed to his desk amidst the cheery greetings of "Good morning, McGee." from Ziva and "Hey, Probie" from Tony, but in his rare moment of displayed anger, Tim ignored both of his teammates and literally threw his backpack to the floor. Tony glanced at Ziva with a frown and turned to watch Tim carefully as his Probie crashed down in his chair and punched at the power button to his computer. Ziva had also noticed the fury rolling off Tim in waves and was so entrenched in her concern or him that she didn't realize how far her eyebrows were knitting together in a mirror image of Tony's frown.

"Hey, McCranky, rough weekend? Too many hours spent in Castle Elf Lord trying to defeat all the little elves and other pixilated bad guys?" Tony taunted teasingly in an effort to break whatever hold this mood had over his Probie. For some reason the dark cloud that hovered over Tim now unsettled him because even after what had happened to Sarah and the kid's first kill, he hadn't been anywhere near as angry as he was now…though he'd come close.

Tim took a deep shuddering breath and slowly exhaled before visibly squaring his slumped shoulders as he attempted to lock away the fury and lava running through his veins. He sat behind his desk with a stiff, stoic posture and literally worked at pulling himself together. The rest of his team watched with surprised concern as a myriad of emotions flittered across the youthful face of their friend. They watched for the slightest hint of Tim reining it in and relaxing in the familiar atmosphere. When a full minute went by without Tim speaking to any of them, Ziva had enough and finally broke the ice.

"McGee, are you all right?"

Blinking to clear away what he could of everything flitting through his mind, he pasted a small thin smile onto place and finally looked back at his team mates with a sorrowful look gleaming in his pale green eyes. He forced down the storm and built his calm façade before greeting everyone on the team with a faux serenity that deep down, he wasn't feeling.

"Mornin', Ziva. Tony. Boss. Sorry about that." Having said only that much, he grabbed his empty coffee cup up and headed toward the break room, suddenly in desperate need for some caffeine and the chance to secure the mask that would get him through the day, hopefully without further questions.

As soon as Tim was gone from the room, Tony looked at his boss and Ziva with wide eyes and let loose the question that was on everyone's lips. "What the hell was that?"

"DiNozzo! Stop squawking about it and find out." Gibbs directed from where he sat behind his desk. He wouldn't tell his team that he was feeling shell-shocked at the unusual display from Tim but the fact that one of his kids had fought like hell to push back the venomous emotion the way Tim had bothered him. Knowing his youngest agent would not let any of them into what was going on, Gibbs decided that the best course of action was to keep things as normal as they could be. "Later. Work won't get done by itself."

"Right, Boss." Tony sat back down at his desk scowling at the mixed messages his Boss had sent. _He wants me to find out, and then tells me to do it later. Why?_

Tim returned to the squad room a couple of minutes later with a large steaming mug of the desperately needed coffee in hand. He had already decided that the best course of action was to stay silent and walked to his desk, sat down and made himself busy doing his job by cleaning out his mailbox and addressing any requests for help that he found among the multitude of emails. As he came across a request from Abby to come down to her lab and see her about something for a case, Tim frowned. He loved the Goth but definitely wasn'tin the mood to talk to her, listen to her, confide in her or anything else that she wanted him for. Thinking for a minute, he finally came up with the solution. _Email!_

He quickly typed out an email with his request that she send the results to him via return email or directly to the plasma screen like she had done countless times before. Having dealt with that, he moved on, politely replying to other emails and weeding out the odd spam message that weaseled their way through the firewall. How, he didn't know because the security was tight, but today he didn't care and didn't even bother opening them. He just sighed with each one and hit the delete button. Once that job was done, he turned his attention over to the cold case file that had been set on his desk earlier that morning before he'd gotten in. Finally; with the cold hard facts and mystery of the case, he began to feel calmer and ready to face the day.

Across the space, Gibbs sat there with his eyes narrowed in a mix of concern and confusion. He'd watched the scene with Tim's arrival unfold and hadn't missed any of it. Even though Tim had managed to bite back his anger and find his inner peace; albeit a faux mask of it, the concern came from the look of pure fury he'd seen in those expressive large eyes which in Tim's case, truly were the window to his soul. He'd always been an open book as far as Gibbs was concerned and the Boss could read his young agent better than anyone. Even as Tim had tried to put it all away and the shutters came down, Gibbs had seen the real deal and it gave him cause to stay alert where Tim was concerned. The fact that none of them had ever seen Tim this angry in all the years they'd worked with him meant that there was something seriously wrong and the boss wasn't happy that his youngest agent would most likely try to go through it alone; whatever it was, without asking for help or a friendly ear to hear him out. That just wasn't who Tim was and sure, Gibbs probably hadn't made himself clear enough with his 'open door' policy, but it was there for everyone to use should they need it.

The shrill sound of Gibbs' phone ringing tore through the thick silent atmosphere that had descended on the team and Gibbs snatched the offending device up without pause.

"Yeah, Gibbs."

"_Gibbs! McGee is refusing to come down here to see my test results like I asked him too! You know, he's actually insisting that I just send him or you the results in an email? What up with that? What's his problem? What did I do?"_ Abby's angry voice berated him through the phone line making Gibbs scowl.

Looking across the room at McGee, it was obvious by the angry frown on the young man's face, that he could hear her ranting all the way over at his desk and was not happy about it. Who could blame him? Abby had a habit of running rough shod over him and his decisions so why would this be any different.

"She wouldn't be running to him about it if it had been Tony." Tim muttered under his breath bitterly and deliberately got back into what he was working on so he could block out the situation_. Damn it, he'd just calmed down enough to work and now she was threatening his resolve._

"Hey. Stop !" Gibbs ordered loudly and firmly. Everyone looked up with surprise because the team leader rarely used that tone with Abby, and when he did, it was one not to be argued with.

"_Ok."_ She answered meekly.

"Abbs, just send the results in an email and then get back to work."

"_What? Gibbs!"_

"Now, Abby! We both know, you'd have had it done already if it'd been anyone else asking you to do it. So just get on it because I don't have time for this."

The faint noise of protest could be heard right before the receiver was slammed down. Tim smiled in appreciation while Tony sat back in his chair wondering what had just happened. He was flabbergasted at both Tim and Gibbs. He'd never seen Tim so angry before and the Probie sure has hell hadn't just verbalized his frustration with Abby in front of the Boss! It just wasn't done and was pretty much a guarantee for a head slap or patented Gibbs glare. Something must have really pushed Probie over that fine line they all walked. _And what was up with the boss? Suddenly, he's putting Abby straight where McGee was concerned?_

Glancing over at Ziva to see if she had picked up on things, Tony actually met her glance and realized that she was also surprised by the events of the last few minutes. Silence shrouded the squad room and after a stern glance from Gibbs, they all turned back to their work until an hour later when Gibbs' desk phone rang again an hour later garnering their interest.

"Yeah, Gibbs…Okay, Got it." He put the phone down and was already half way out of his chair when he started barking orders. "Grab your gear! Missing Navy dependent."

"Since when do we handle missing children cases, Boss?" Tony asked right off the bat as they all scrambled to catch up to him and jumped on the elevator.

"Since we were specifically requested, DiNozzo. Seems as though the FBI has recognized the merit of asking for our help every now and then."

"How old is the child, Gibbs?" Ziva asked quietly.

"Five months." Gibbs answered somberly. The cases that involved kids always caused him pain; not that he'd readily admit it but they always reminded him of what he'd lost. He'd be damned if anyone else was going to feel the loss of a family that they cherished. Little did he know, he never quite managed to keep the pain out of his voice and his team always knew. Out of respect they said nothing though.

In the quiet corner of the elevator, no one seemed to notice how pale Tim had suddenly become, or heard his sharp intake of breath before it hitched and became more rapid. His hands started to clench and unclench as he anger that threatened to boil over rose up once again. Of course, Gibbs' eagle eyes didn't fail to notice this change of demeanor in Tim but he decided to file it away for later discussion right along with the earlier concerns.

The ride out to the scene was a silent one with everyone lost in their own thoughts. Hoping that Tim would still be able to do his job without getting caught up in whatever it was that obviously was already making this case tough for him, Gibbs assigned the duties accordingly. "McGee, with me. We'll take the house. Tony, Ziva, speak to the witness and take photos of the area."

Tim swallowed hard as he took the equipment he needed and followed the boss to the door wondering if he was being tested like this on purpose by a God who thought it was funny to see him suffer. As the agents were allowed entry into the house by the distraught Foster Mother, Gibbs took over the questioning while nodding Tim towards the missing baby's room. He hoped that giving him something to do that was hands on, would take him away from the family's anguished story.

Seeing the baby's room; the crib and rocking chair, infant toys which included the growing stages toys, the changing table and closet full of little baby clothes hanging up nice and neatly, brought tears to the young man's eyes. Angrily, he brushed them away and got busy doing his job looking for clues as to how a five month old baby could just vanish from his crib in the middle of the day.

Whoever had done it hadn't been smart or slick about it, as Tim quickly found out as soon as he saw the jimmied lock on the large bedroom window by the rocking chair. After carefully opening the window, Tim leaned out of it and looked down at the clear, large footprints that left no doubt in his mind that a man had done this. Now the question that needed to be answered was why.

Straightening up, he ducked slightly before returning to the bedroom and looked around once more. This time stopping to touch the softness of the baby's blanket; the plushness of his stuffed animals and the soft baby clothes sitting neatly on the dresser. Picking up a pair of his shoes, he smiled wistfully, with pain returning to his heart once more and once again, a wave of anger threatened to engulf him entirely. Swallowing hard, he gently put the shoes back, wiped yet another errant tear from his face and turned to leave the room only to find himself face to face with Gibbs; those steely blue eyes threatening to bore into his soul.


	2. Chapter 2

Gibbs stood watching Tim for a minute and couldn't help but feel shocked at what he saw. This wasn't normal for the young man at all. As a matter of fact, it seemed like the Tim McGee that had come to work that morning was a person that they'd never seen before. This melancholy mood and the actual tears in the normally long-suffering agent had the alarm bells ringing shrilly in the boss' head. But, still there was a case to solve and because it was a missing baby to be found, they couldn't afford to waste any more time.

"Hey, you find anything?"

Tim drew in a shuddering breath and slowly released it as he nodded his head and turned to show the boss the window and the footprints. Once Gibbs had seen it, they headed out toward the yard where the print was sitting. Back in full Agent mode, Gibbs left Tim to it so he could check on Tony and Ziva as they came back into the house and walked over to him.

"Boss, no one saw anything." Tony stated quietly.

"Gibbs, there are no cameras in any yard that is near this one." Ziva added with disappointment lacing her tone. All of them were deeply affected by the missing child and Gibbs felt pride at the way they acted. That was ultimately, what made them the fantastic team they were.

The boss nodded at Ziva's explanation and then turned his attention to Tony. "Can't be right, Tony. The baby was taken in broad daylight. McGee found the jimmied window and a man's footprint right outside the baby's room. Somebody saw something."

"Well, I guess there's a neighbor somewhere on this street that just doesn't believe in cooperation." Tony sniped angrily when he realized he'd been played by whoever did play witness.

Holding a folder out toward his Senior Field Agent, he gave out new orders. "Go check with the agency handling this adoption and take the evidence McGee's got back to Abby when you go. Ziva, go talk to the neighbors and see if you can get more cooperation than Tony here, got." Gibbs instructed. It wasn't a slight against Tony, but the ex-Mossad agent would have more of a chance of being forceful in her own unique way.

"What about McDiscovery out there?" Tony asked wapishly. "Want me to take him back with me?"

"Why, you two have a hot date? No, DiNozzo, now go on!" Gibbs barked.

"Right Boss, On it, Boss." Tony's sullen voice was evidence enough that he knew what he'dsaid was wrong. With a small sigh, he shook his head and turned to leave for the yard with the file and evidence in hand.

*****NCIS*****

Two hours later found all of them hot on the trail of their suspect. Tony had uncovered the biological father's name and address while Abby had tracked the man's movements. James Culpepper didn't own any credit cards and so their trail of evidence was limited to phone call logs which thankfully proved to be all they needed.

Now, here they all were facing Culpepper. He'd stopped running the minute he realized that there was no way out and rather than fight, he simply fell softly to his knees cradling his precious package. He hadn't endangered the child's life in any way, in fact he'd held the baby like the treasure he was and it was clear to all of them that this was not a case where the baby was in any danger of being harmed.

"Why'd you do it?" Gibbs watched the man for his reaction as he waited for his answer to the question.

James Culpepper knew his life as he knew it, was over but at least he'd tried and that had to count for something. Now he needed to have his say; needed to defend himself while he still could.

"Look, I never even knew she was pregnant! She lied to me and told me she wasn't! Now I find out she not only had my baby, but she gave him up for adoption without even asking me! All I wanted was the chance to be a father to him. She stole that away from me." The devastated man cried as he held onto his child.

Gibbs nodded sympathetically and noted the way the blood drained out of his youngest agent's face leaving him looking as white as a ghost while standing silently by, waiting for this to be over so he could gather up their gear. _Oh, yeah, he definitely needed to have a little chat with him when this was over._

Tim was trying desperately to hold his emotions in check. He felt weird knowing that his emotions mirrored the weeping man in front of him, but it still did little to justify what he'd done even though in Tim's eyes, there was no danger and the child hadn't needed rescuing. _Boy did he know what this guy was feeling_.

But most law abiding citizens wouldn't do something like this; they wouldn't screw up their lives in a lame attempt at taking on the system in the hope that they could be what they so desperately wanted…needed to be. When handled like this, it was bound not to end well for anyone.

As Ziva gently took the child from the distraught father and Tony quietly handcuffed him, the group headed back to the agency vehicle and the Child Welfare Officer who'd been called. The small woman was standing by her own vehicle which was parked directly next the sedan that Gibbs had procured.

"I only took him because he's my son!" James cried defensively in a last minute ditch to absolve himself of his actions. "He's my son!"

Gibbs slowly began following in their wake, the pain of another child case slowing his movements. The fact that this was a father who'd been denied the rights to raise his own son made it hurt that much more because they now had to treat that hurting father as the criminal he'd allowed himself to become.

Left alone to finish packing up the rest of their gear, Tim's unexpected muttered words of anger stopped Gibbs in his tracks.

"And here I thought I was the only one that happened to."


	3. Chapter 3

The drive back to the Navy Yard was ominously silent on Tim's part. Tony and Ziva had their usual bantering and even tried to pull Tim into it, but it was obvious that the youngest of the three junior team members had been dropped back down into that ocean of anger he'd been drowning in when he'd started work earlier. In the small confines of the car, it seemed to crackle in the air around them making the atmosphere thick and cloying despite their attempts at alleviating it.

The boss felt like he'd been sucker punched. _Did McGee just say what he thought he'd said? _Putting every ounce of himself into driving, his mind still insisted on going through the questions that refused to stop beating at his mind until they were answered.

_Was all of this adding up to what it seemed to be adding up to? Was it possible? Was there any way to help McGee? Why didn't that that kid talk to him about it to begin with!_

*****NCIS*****

"Wanna tell me why NCIS is being called into an adoption case? Why the hell would an adoption agency be calling me about one of your agents?" Leon Vance was practically shouting now as he stood toe to toe with his best Agent. "Gibbs, I don't know what the hell is going on but I sure as hell want answers."

"Well I don't know, Leon. Why don't you tell me what they wanted." Gibbs remained outwardly calm despite his gut screaming at him that this little piece of the mysterious puzzle was an answer as to what was bothering Tim. He also couldn't help the feeling that it was going to spell trouble.

"Wanted to know if we could verify whether Agent McGee is fit to raise a child with the job he has."

"What? Tell me, you didn't sell McGee out like that!" Gibbs snapped out angrily.

"No, Gibbs. I didn't and I wouldn't. What I did do, is tell them that they needed to get in here and talk to us face to face so we could figure out what the hell is going on. Don't know what led me to tell them that, since this isn't the public welfare office, but…"

"Leon, it's more complicated than that." Gibbs reassured the man quickly.

"Oh? You _know_ what's going on? Because I sure as hell don't. You know I don't like it when I don't know what's happening under my nose in my own agency, Gibbs." Vance bit out with the anger he was still feeling at getting the phone call and being left in the dark.

"Relax, Leon, I don't know exactly what's going on."

"But, you _do_ know _something_." Vance stated succinctly and kept his almond eyes firm on the team leader. "You better start talking."

"What I _do _know, Leon, is that McGee came in to work this morning more pissed than we've ever seen him before." Gibbs sat down in the nearest chair. "And he said something out at the scene about thinking that the situation was something that only happened to him."

"What?" Vance sat down in his own chair. That wasn't what he expected; hell, he didn't know what he was expecting but that statement shocked him.

"Culpepper said he only took the baby because he just found out that the boy was his. Turns out the girlfriend lied to him by telling him she wasn't pregnant when she was. She had he kid and put it up for adoption without the fathers knowledge or consent."

"Culpepper was the father and he had no say in anything?"

"Yeah. Apparently, the adoption agency had no knowledge of the real father's identity and went ahead with the adoption. Now it's finalized, Culpepper would have to fight it out in court to get that boy back. He can't afford a lawyer so he went about it the only way he could think of to gain custody and bring his son up himself."

"And McGee said he thought that situation only happened to him?"

"Uh huh." Gibbs answered and nodded once.

"He said that to your kidnapper?" Vance asked angrily at the fact that a member of NCIS had let their emotions fumble when professionalism was needed.

"C'mon, Leon, my agents wouldn't do anything so stupid. The guy was already in custody and being put in the car by then. McGee was busy packing everything up and said it when he thought he was alone."

"But you heard him because you have excellent hearing." Vance observed dryly. "Guess I need to be careful of what I say in the future."

Gibbs remained silent on that given fact.

"Gibbs, I'm gonna need to talk to him about this before they get here." Vance warned. "He can't go in blind."

"No. if you talk to him he's gonna feel ambushed. Let me talk to him first." Gibbs countered stubbornly. "I can get through to him."

"Fine. But make it fast. They'll be here in two hours."

Gibbs nodded and headed out of the Director's office to make his way to the conference room. Once inside, he took out his phone and walked over to the nearest chair hitting the speed dial for the person he needed. After issuing his quiet order, he tossed the phone on the table and sat back to take a moment to take in the new information and figure out a way of trying to talk to Tim without scaring the kid off or making him clam up completely.

***NCIS***

Tony, Ziva and Tim remained steadily typing up their reports, none of them speaking into the quiet that had descended on them after Gibbs had gone up to the Director's Office. Both of them knew something had sent Tim off and although they had no clue what it was, they did seem to believe that leaving him alone was what they needed to do.

Into the quiet, the shrill of Tim's cell phone rang clear. "Agent McGee."

"_Conference Room 2. Now ."_

Tim snapped his phone shut and headed out of the squad room without a word or a backward glance.

"What the hell's up with that?" Tony asked.

"I do not know, Tony. But whatever it is, it is not our business unless McGee makes it our business, yes?"

"You know I hate it when you're right, right?" Tony grumbled.

"I know. But think of it this way. The sooner we get our reports on this case done, the sooner you can find something else to do to amuse yourself while we await the next case, yes?"

"Now you're talkin'!" Tony enthused as he dove back into his work.

***NCIS***

Tim felt his heart sink more and more as he walked to the conference room. His anger had already reached fever pitch on several occasions leaving him feeling as though he was walking that fine line of keeping his emotions in check and blowing completely. His gut felt heavy and churned at the thought that Gibbs probably just wanted to call him out on his attitude over the day and just wanted to do it privately to give him some time to think and talk if need be. He guessed he should be thankful for the small mercies the boss was showing him in that regard.

Come to think about it, getting called to the conference room as privately as he had was a huge leap in Gibbs' book because usually discretion flew out of the window and it was a quiet word at desks or a bellow across the squad room…that was unless the favorite meeting room of Gibbs' choice was available, then a trip to the elevator was the call of the day. Despite counting himself lucky about the change in events, Tim's gut filled with dread at what was coming next. He grasped the handle of the door and paused briefly before biting the bullet and walking in.

"Close the door, Tim . Take a seat." The boss directed quietly.

As Tim sank down into the chair opposite Gibbs, he noted the older man's tone and use of his given name; both unusual occurances in their own right. Something was definitely up. _Oh, God, was he being fired? Oh, crap! He knew he should have gotten a better handle on his anger this morning! Damn it!_

Gibbs watched the panic rise in his agent and wondered what he was thinking to bring it on.."Calm down, McGee. Just need to clear something up."

Tim did breathe easier at those words, but his nerves were still feeling raw and stretched thin. Even before walking into the conference room, it wouldn't have taken much to snap that tenuous hold but this conversation was making him feel more exposed.

"What's this about, Boss?" he finally managed to ask nervously.

Gibbs smiled softly. He hadn't heard this much nervousness in McGee in years. The tension the young man was feeling was fairly evident and it was easy to see that this didn't need to be prolonged any longer than necessary.

"Need you to tell me what's going on with you." Gibbs said quietly even as the look in his eyes clearly showed that he knew more than Tim thought he did.

Tim swallowed hard and looked down at the table in front of him. After a minute of tense silence, the quiet was broken with an unusually soft encouragement.

"McGee?"

Tim looked up at him. "Boss, I don't know what you want me to say." He said cautiously.

"_And here I thought I was the only one that happened to." _Gibbs quoted hoping that it would be the catalyst for Tim to open up and explain what he had meant by the statement.

Tim's face lost all color as he was hit with the realization that the boss had heard his words. They had been spoken in a moment of pained frustration when their case hit to close to home for him. "Boss, I'm sorry." Was the only thing he could think to say as he sat there at a complete loss.

"Talk to me. What's going on with you?" The soft request surprised Tim slightly and he looked up to see Gibbs gazing at him softly rather than glaring. There was a concerned interest about what was going on and for an instant, Tim saw what kind of father the older man had been.

The young man sat back in his chair and breathed out a sigh of frustrated relief. He hadn't wanted it to become part of who he was at work but it was obvious that there was no avoiding it now. Now, he'd be the laughing stock of the agency the minute Abby or Tony found out. _Wait, this wasn't Abby or Tony. This was Gibbs. And Gibbs kept his secrets._

"Boss, can this stay just between us, please?" Tim asked worriedly.

"Not sure I can promise you that, McGee. Director's already hot under the collar since some adoption agency called him to verify what you've told them?"

"Oh, God!" Tim muttered. "Now, I'll never live this down."

"Live it down?" Gibbs asked harshly. This wasn't the response he wanted and it pissed him off."That's what you're worried about? Damn it, McGee I think you'd better start from the beginning."

"Okay. But, first, Boss. You have to know that it's too late to change anything. I've accepted it. It hurts…really hurts; but there's nothing I can do about it. I don't even know why they'd call anyone about me." Tim said with a heavy air of resignation. "It doesn't make any sense."

Gibbs felt his anger dissappating in the face of his agent's personal pain. It was plain to see that this was not something Tim was taking lightly. In fact, if the boss had taken a minute to recall the young man's behavior and mood throughout the day; he realized now, he'd have known that without question.

"Okay, McGee. Just take me through what happened." Encouragement was the only way to go in this situation, but it wasn't hard at this point and all the team leader had to do was try and keep Tim on an even keel.

"You remember a while back when the girl I was dating turned out to be crazy enough to get off on going through my mail and getting credit cards in my name and charging tons of stuff in my name?" Tim asked and let his mind travel back to the situation 15 months ago.

_Abby__ "McGee."_

_McGee__ "Yeah."_

_Abby__ "Did you know it is 365 steps from my lab to your desk? I'm trying to get my blood pumping. What's wrong with you?" _

_McGee__ "Nothing" _

_Abby __"OK this is a new caffeine-free non-jittery Abby. Still waters, deep. You're hiding something and I seek it. Speak." _

_McGee__ "I've been seeing this girl." _

_Abby__ "Oh. That's...nice."_

_McGee__ "No actually it's not nice. She uh..stole my mail and took out $65,000 in pre-approved credit cards in my name."_

_Abby__ "Wow you have really good credit." _

_McGee__ "Like a score of 750. Was."_

_Abby__ "So this is like the best worst love story ever?" _

_McGee__ "Abby, what do I do? It's like I'm nuts for this girl, and she's just... nuts." _

_Abby __"She stole your heart but she stole your money. Arrest her." _

_McGee__ "That's the thing; that's what she wants. She admitted everything to me." He takes out a paper from his desk drawer and hands it to Ab.) _

_Abby__ "That is a check for $65,000." _

_McGee__ "Yeah, her father is Ernest Lenord. He's worth billions. She does this for fun. She's been arrested twice, she steals people's money, she buys things." _

_Abby__ "The crazy ones are the best__?" _

"I remember." The boss interrupted Tim's trip down memory lane. "You asked Abby's advice and she told you to have her crazy ass arrested before she did it to anyone else."

"Yeah, and I stupidly told her I kinda digged the girl's wild side. I still did as Abby suggested and had her charged. But…."

"But, what, McGee. Just spit it out. We don't have a lot of time here." Gibbs coaxed hoping Tim would get to the point. He didn't like the thought of going in to this meeting blind.

"Why not? What's going on, Boss?"

"Just tell me what happened, McGee."

"Let's just say, when we had that case a while before that, with the surrogate parents and Abby suggested we do a search for all my past girlfriends in case I had a kid I didn't know about, I shouldn't have been so quick to blow the idea off."

_ABBY__: It's just so sad, you know? You have a son you never knew about for all those years. And then right when you find out. Oh, it doesn't seem fair. Maybe you should call all your old girlfriends, you know, just to check. _

_MCGEE__: That won't take long. What I mean is, I can't imagine any of them having a baby without telling me…_

Tim took a deep breath as he blinked at looked at his boss now. Looking the older man straight on, he let him in."I was wrong, Boss."


	4. Chapter 4

Gibbs sat back in shock as the the last piece of the puzzle fit into place and the big picture emerged in his mind. "So you're telling me that this crazy girl had your baby, lied to you and told you she wasn't pregnant so she could give the baby up for adoption." He wanted confirmation that this was exactly what his agent was telling him.

"In a nutshell." Tim said bitterly. "Her father is Ernest Lenord and was worth billions then…still is today. She, on the other hand, was doing the credit card stunts; stealing people's money, buying things, for fun and had already been arrested twice before I took Abby's advice and made sure she got her third strike on the books."

"Why didn't you know she was pregnant, McGee?" the older man asked. Sure, it wasn't the kids fault, but he had to have heard something.

"Boss, she's been incarcerated. We haven't kept in touch or kept any kind of relationship going." Tim defended. "And it's not like I keep in touch with any of her friends."

"Okay. How'd you find out? " The Team Leader pushed quietly as he tried to process what had been so wrongly taken from this innately honest young man.

"The adoption agency called me on Friday to ask me if I was sure I wanted the adoption to go through. The message was waiting for me when I got home. Apparently, she slipped up and mentioned me to them after lying on the paperwork and claiming she didn't know who the father was. They claimed that legally, since she named me as the father, even if it was in passing, I had to be consulted and my permission given before the adoption can be finalized."

"You said it was done and nothing could be done about it. So, you've given up the fight for your child? Why would you do that, McGee?"

"Because of the hours I keep and the dangerous job I have. It's not like I want to give up my own son." Tim said defensively and got up out of the chair and went to look out the window. "Boss, I'd give my right arm to be able to raise my own child. I love kid, have always wanted to be a dad and knowing that I do have my own child out there in the world but can't raise him myself is tearing me apart." Tim said quietly.

"What'd her father have to say about any of this?" Gibbs softened slightly and stood up to go stand by his agent.

"I got a special delivery from the adoption agency on Saturday. Apparently, they wanted me to have a copy of the letter that his attorney sent them. Her family wants no part of the baby's life. They're firm believers in marriage before children and since there's no way I'm ever gonna marry her, they washed their hands of the 'ill-legitimate bastard'." Tim said as he began to build up steam at the very attitude he was describing. Adoption had been weighing heavily on his youngest agent all day. It was time to rebalance the scales in this new father-to-be's favor. First: some motivation and direction. "I really do want to be a father to him. But,….."

"Then stop denying yourself that right. The adoption agency will be here soon, so we'll figure out how to get it done." Gibbs directed quietly as he recalled once more, the tears this young man had shed back at the missing baby's house and the mood he'd been in.

"Boss, they've already agreed with me." Tim said miserably as he turned from the window and looked at his Gibbs. "Deadline to stop the final adoption is in two weeks. Like I said, there's nothing I can do about it, now. Why are they coming here?"

"McGee. Do you want your son or not?" Gibbs asked firmly once he had made Tim look at him directly in the eyes.

"Yes, but…"

"But what?"

"I'm not sure I'm good enough." Tim softly admitted with a boatload of doubt weighing down on him.

"That's a crock. Do you want him or not?" Gibbs demanded one last time as he found himself getting angry at Tim's self-depreciative attitude.

"Yes! But there's no way I can do this. I'm just one person, Boss. My apartment's not right for a baby. My schedule's too crazy, and that's not even talking about the dog…"

"Guess you should have asked for help from your team sooner and trusted us to be there for you." Gibbs interrupted. Opening up his cell phone, he called his Senior Field Agent. "Tony, you and Ziva get Abby and meet us down in Autopsy. Let Ducky know we're coming and it's important. Make sure Palmer's there, too."

"_Okay, Boss. What about McGee? Want me to find him for ya?"_ Tony offered as he snapped his fingers in Ziva's direction.

"Nope. Just meet me in five."

***NCIS*** 

An hour later, just minutes before the Adoption Agency Representative was due to meet with Director Vance, the entire Team Gibbs including Jimmy Palmer, Ducky and Abby, were assembled in the conference room finalizing the plan of action that they had put together to help Tim gain custody of his child. Once the shock had worn off, everyone had rebounded immediately and were genuinely pleased for Tim that he was a dad. It didn't stop them feeling angry that their friend had been denied the right to be that father from day one because of spite or anger; maybe some other negative emotion on the mother's part, but still, it wasn't a fair reasoning and didn't explain or justify why Tim didn't get that chance; he chance to love and bond with a child from the get go.

Abby had mended fences with Tim given that she now understood how she'd pushed just a little too hard to have things done her way no matter what. Looking back actually made her feel badly about the conversation the two of them had had about Tim's past girlfriends and possibly children of his. Tim had been quick to reassure her that she had nothing to feel bad about and they were soon back on good terms enough so that they'd quickly re-cemented their strong friendship and everyone was more than happy to see it.

If Vance was shocked that the entire team was present for the meeting as he led the visitor into the room, he didn't let it show. The woman from the agency was the no nonsense, take no prisoners type that left him feeling nervous for the young agent. Smoothly, he introduced the woman, Mrs. Cotten, to everyone in turn and urged her to take a seat next to Tim. Gibbs sat at the end of the table so he could keep his sharp eyes on both his youngest agent and the woman who'd be playing a large role in the young man's chances of gaining custody of his son. Tony and Ziva had taken up chairs opposite Tim on either side of Ducky, who was also keeping a watchful eye over how the young man was fearing through this whole situation. Abby had taken the seat next to Tim while Jimmy had taken the seat next to Ziva. Mrs. Cotten glanced around the full table and offered a small smile at the support network that surrounded Timothy McGee.

"Now, then. Mr. McGee, …" Mrs. Cotten began.

"Tim, please." Tim timidly interrupted and blushed slightly.

"Alright. Tim, As I told you over the phone, you've been named as and subsequently proven to be the biological father of young Christopher and since we have proof of the birth mother's claim as such through the paternity test results she provided us with on Friday, it is our legal obligation to obtain your consent to his final adoption."

"Mrs. Cotten. I know I said some things over the phone and you agreed. But, I've given this a lot of thought." Tim stopped and looked around at his support group, smiling gratefully at each of them in turn. "And, I've changed my mind. I want custody of my son."

The woman sat back in the chair and looked as stunned. Her face was a picture of disbelief and confusion at this new turn of events. After a moment she finally spoke. "Tim. You and I both agreed that neither your job nor your schedule are suitable for raising a child."

"Then why call me to verify it?" Vance interrupted with a touch of anger. Being a parent himself, he felt a certain rage that Tim was being told outright his life wasn't suitable for the same privilege.

"Because, Director Vance, it is my duty to see to it that all avenues of placing the child with family have been explored before adoption is finalized."

"That doesn't make sense." Tim argued. "If that were the case, you would have called my sister or my parents and you haven't. Have you?"

"No, Tim. We have not. Not yet. Those phone calls were slated to be handled on Monday"

"There's no need." Gibbs spoke up.

"I'm sorry?" Mrs. Cotten turned to the gruff, silver haired man that had been introduced as Agent Gibbs and frowned.

"Gibbs is right! Tim's the baby's father. That should be the end of it! There's no reason he shouldn't be allowed to be the parent of his own child!" Abby protested loudly.

"I agree." Ducky said quietly as everyone else on the team verbally joined in with their own voice raised agreement. "However, I do wish to ask a question. From where did this woman obtain a paternity test?"

"She had documentation of a paternity test she had done at a reputable lab when the child was first born five and a half months ago. Apparently, she had kept something of Tim's for that purpose." The woman stated even as she kindly handed Tim a photo of the child he'd never known he had before this past weekend.

Tim picked up the photo and his mind honed in on the picture he was holding. At that moment, no one else in the room mattered because this baby; this beautiful baby was his son. _Oh, God, His son! God, he was beautiful! _Tears flooded his eyes and he blinked rapidly to chase them off even as he reluctantly passed the picture on to Abby so he could return his attention to the Case Worker.

"Wait. Are you saying she planned this? Why plan to get pregnant only to give up the child?" Ziva asked in confusion.

"I do not know if she planned this or not" Sighing in frustration, Mrs. Cotten shifted uncomfortably in her chair as Tony, Ziva, Abby and Jimmy all seemed to erupt in angry feedback, the baby's picture resting in Ducky's safe hands by this time.

Gibbs let out his attention calling whistle to quiet the group. Once he had everyone's attention and the room was quiet once more, he turned to the poor woman and spoke firmly in the tone that his team knew he meant business. "Tell us what Tim needs to do to get custody of his child. The sooner the baby is returned to his father, the sooner he's out of the system and living a normal life, bonding with his natural parent. He needs to be returned to his biological father as soon as possible."

"Very well. If this is what you choose. However, Tim. I must warn you, that raising a child…"

"Mrs. Cotten, No offense, but Tim is a pretty intelligent guy, not to mention he has the support and experience of a few guys here that are not exactly new to the experience of being fathers to fall back on. The fact that he was willing to say no because he thought he was doing what was in his son's best interests should tell you he isn't taking this lightly one bit. So, can we just skip the lecture and get to the answer to Gibbs' question, please?" Tony interrupted as he sent a sorrowful look Gibbs' way.

"Thanks, Tony." Tim offered sincerely while also shooting a worried look at his boss.

Gibbs offered a tight smile to both of his boys who were both quite obviously concerned with how this was affecting him and turned his attention back to the Adoption Rep to hear what needed to be done.

"Well, barring any complications, which I don't forsee happening, there isn't any reason Tim should have any trouble gaining custody of his son. Although, as he and I discussed; there is the matter of his late hours and dangerous job. That means suitable provisions will have to be in place for Christopher's care when Tim is not able to be there for him. Of course, his residence will have to be suitable for the child and a proper daycare plan in place, as well as proper medical care for regular checkups and things as such, will have to be in place."

"But, we can pull the plug on this adoption before it's too late so long as those criteria are met?" Tim asked with hope shining in his eyes and nearly radiating off of him, bringing smiles to everyone on his team.

"I don't see why not; especially since the birth mother rescinded her rights to the child five and a half months ago, effective when Christopher was first born. He will be exactly six months old on the day his adoption is scheduled to be made permanent. However, since you have decided you want custody that will be nullified as soon as possible, so long as there are no unforeseen complications."

"Wait, Is there a chance she can change her mind?" Tim worried.

"A small one."

Tim's posture changed instantly. Now, defeated and ready to throw in the towel, he dropped his head down, almost completely to his chest. If she'd gone through all this trouble of keeping him in the dark about the baby and nearly being successful in giving him up for adoption without Tim's knowledge, it was pretty much a given she'd fight him tooth and nail; and win, with her father's connections. Even if the man didn't want anything to do with his own grandchild, he still yielded some pretty strong pull in some pretty high places. If he didn't want Tim to raise the child of his daughter's then Tim was screwed.

"Abby." Gibbs said quietly.

The Lab Rat looked over at the boss, only to find him nodding in Tim's direction. "Sure, Gibbs." She answered his silent direction with a smirk as she reached over and smacked Tim on the back of the head.

"Ow! What…?" he scowled at her even as she smirked again and nodded her head in the boss' direction at the end of the table.

Looking at his boss, Tim only received the patented 'Gibbs glare' and the tilt of his head silently ordering him to pull himself back up by his bootstraps and hang tough. "Right. Thanks. Boss." Tim offered quietly. "You, too, Abby."

"Anytime, Timmy." She answered quietly as she smiled at him genuinely.

"Wait! Why does she still have a chance of changing her mind after all this time?" Tony demanded.

"The deadline is in two weeks. Both biological parents have the right to change their minds up until that time."

"That does not seem fair. It seems to me that the mother has already made her decision while Tim had been denied the chance to even know his child." Ziva protested angrily.

"I am sorry about that. That sometimes does happen, when the birth mother _claims_ she doesn't know who the father is. Unfortunately, it also does _genuinely_ happen, as I'm sure you all know, given the line of work you're in." Mrs. Cotten stated sadly. "Consequently, we must abide by what the birth mother's tell us until such time that we are informed otherwise, as in your case, Tim. This, however, is a rare occurrence. You are actually quite fortunate that the birth mother spoke of you and your role in Christopher's life while in the presence of one of our employees. We are thankful that employee was so conscientious and immediately added the information to your son's file, which is what has brought us to this point."

"Will she have to be told that I want Christopher?" Tim asked worriedly.

"No. Not if you don't want her to know."

"Whew. Something tells me she'd change her mind just to spite me."

"What about her father?" Gibbs asked.

"I'm not sure I understand the question, Agent Gibbs."

When it had been explained to her just what they were concerned about, she remained upright and confident. "Not to worry. Everything is above board and completely legal. The fact that the maternal grandfather has already denounced all rights to the child means he has no say in anything regarding Christopher anymore. That will not change."

"What about custody now?" Abby asked. "Can Tim have his son now?"

"I will get the paperwork for Christopher's release from the Foster Care System started and if all the conditions are met when we next meet, I can't see any reason why you can't have your son by the end of the month."

"That's three weeks away. That's after the deadline!" Tim worried.

"We might be able to get things moved along before then. Let's take things one day at a time, alright?"

"Spoken like someone who's never had this happen to them." Tim muttered miserably.

"McGee." Gibbs admonished.

"I know. I'm sorry. I'm just…"

"Frustrated. I understand, Tim. But, believe me, the time will fly and you might even be wishing you had more preparation time before it's upon you." Mrs. Cotten stood up, clearly calling an end to the meeting. "Before I go, just to back ourselves up, I'd like to ask that each of you fill one of these out completely and honestly. I may not need them, but I'd like to have that base covered in case we do. Also, if any of you plan on being a child care provider for your friend, you may want to go ahead and baby proof your residence. That would go a long way in smoothing things over as part of Tim's support system. Also, Tim, I'll need one of these from each of your immediate family members as well."

"Okay. Thank you, Mrs. Cotten. I'm sorry I've changed things around on you like this."

"Oh, Don't be, young man. I'm just sorry you've been put in this position and didn't have the opportunity to raise your son from the beginning. " Hopefully, with him only being six months old at the deadline date, you'll be able to put that painful part of this behind you ."

"I have one more question." Tim threw out there. "Shouldn't I be letting him get to know me before taking him away from the only family he's ever known?"

Gibbs smiled at Tim's perception. The guy was a better man for the job than he'd given himself credit for.

"Actually, that is exactly how you should be handling this, Tim. I'll set it up and get back to you. Let's plan on trying to get the two of you together at least three times a week until the transiition?"

"That would be great. Can I bring someone with me?" Tim asked timidly as he glanced at Abby and Ziva in turn.

"I would suggest you bring one person with you only. The foster family will be having a difficult enough time adjusting to the idea of not keeping Christopher permanently as it is."

"Oh, Right. They're not gonna want to see me." Tim agreed miserably.

"McGee." Gibbs said sternly.

"Boss?"

"Knock it off. You wanna be concerned for them, great. Don't do it at your own expense or that of your relationship with your son."

"I know, Boss, it's just…."

"Probie! Don't argue with the man." Tony threw out there.

"Tim." Mrs. Cotten said. "Agent Gibbs is right. Do not let your concern for the foster family become a roadblock for you. The full situation will be explained to them. They will know that you are not doing this to hurt them. You have every right to be your son's father and they will understand that."

"Okay." Tim breathed out. "Thank you for everything. I understand my decision was out of the blue but I really want this. I haven't thought of anything else this weekend. I mean, I've always wanted children. I love them. Thank you."

"You're welcome. Now, I really must go. I have a lot of work to do to get things rolling. Thank you all for your time and your obvious support of Tim in this."

As the group stood while she was escorted out by Vance, the air in the room seemed to warm considerable with the new turn of events, even as the group erupted into cheers. Once again, Gibbs reined them in with his whistle. "We'll pick this up at my place tonight at 7. Might wanna spend your lunch hours helping McGee scout for a new place. But now, get back to work."

"Thanks guys! You have no idea how much this means to me." Tim offered loudly enough for all of them to hear through their bantering as they headed out of the room and back to their jobs.

When quiet returned to the room, it was because only Gibbs and Tim remained. This was the moment Tim had been dreading. _How to tell this man that he felt badly for all of this because he knew it had to open the deep wound for Gibbs of his own lost family._


	5. Chapter 5

Mrs. Cotten's words of warning that Tim would wish for more preparation time, soon came to be true as the next three weeks flew by. In a whirl of case work, paperwork, looking for and finding a small house with a backyard, buying things to adequately furnish a baby's room as well as spare playpens for the team so that whoever's house he happened to be at would be ready for Christopher's visit and working out a pediatrician and daycare at the Agency; the entire team seemed to be endlessly in motion to help Tim prepare for the placement of baby Christopher in his life.

When the time came for Tim to visit Christopher the first time, he'd chosen carefully and decided that Gibbs would be the best person for the moral support he needed. He had no idea why, but he trusted the boss and knew that Gibbs would have his six all the way and stop him from falling or screwing this up. The man's experience as a father and his role as Tim's mentor had also helped firm up the decision in his mind and it was his first meeting with Mrs. Cotton that had sealed the idea in his mind.

_**Flashback**_

_When quiet returned to the room, it was because only Gibbs and Tim remained. This was the moment Tim had been dreading. How to tell this man that he felt badly for all of this; because he knew it had to open the deep wound for Gibbs of his own lost family._

_Before Tim could even speak he felt the familiar sting of a head slap. **Thwack** _

"_Boss?" he asked in puzzlement._

"_Knock it off. Whole different ballgame, McGee. You're the one who keeps thinking it's not."_

_Tim looked away and swallowed hard. He got what the boss was saying. In trying to be sensitive to the boss' loss of his daughter, he was keeping it fresh for the man himself. That was the last thing he'd ever wanted to do. Looking back at the man, now, he felt like a heel. "I'm sorry."_

"_I know. Move on." Gibbs instructed quietly. "Stop looking back."_

"_Okay. Boss, can I ask you something?"_

"_Yeah, anything, McGee."_

"_Would you be willing to…if everything works out… be his honorary grandfather? I don't really speak to my dad and I'm not sure how he'd take it. If he does accept this, then there's no harm in Christopher having more than one grandfather around."_

_Gibbs swallowed hard. Trying to keep his emotions under lock and key, he nodded. "Yeah, McGee. I'd like that."_

"_Thanks. That means a lot to me. Think you'd be willing to go with me when I visit him the first time? I really don't wanna mess it up. I think I could use your help."_

_Gibbs smiled. "You do realize I'm not a people person?"_

_Tim smiled. "Yeah, Boss. That's not the part I'm worried about messing up."_

"_Ah, I get it. Yeah, I'd be happy to come with you."_

_**End Flashback**_

The first night after the meeting with Mrs. Cotten, had been a wild night filled with plans and enthusiasm, emotions and team bonding like nothing they'd seen or experienced before. Even now, as Tim looked back on the rest of that day and even the night that followed, he still felt the rush of adrenaline and new sense of excitement and warmth of more strongly knit bonds between himself and his team.

_**Flashback**_

"_Thank you for agreeing to be Christopher's honorary Grandfather, Boss. And for being willing to go with me to visit him. That means a lot to me. Listen, I know you want us to get back to work, but if you don't mind, I need to ask you about something else."_

"_Out with it."_

"_I need a godfather for him."_

"_Yeah. Ya do."_

"_And I don't have one."_

"_Because you don't have any male relatives besides your father."_

"_Well, yeah, there is that."_

"_And you don't wanna ask Tony."_

"_Boss, I'd love to ask Tony but I can't."_

"_Why not?"_

"_Boss, I don't want anything to spoil my chances of this working out. And Tony…"_

"_Tony what, McGee?"_

"_His reputation….the women…the gossip…"_

"_Oh, right. Yeah. I can see where that could be a problem. What are you gonna do about it?"_

"_That's just it. I don't know what I can do. I don't wanna hurt his feelings and I'd really love for him to be Christopher's godfather. I don't want anyone else to have that role because I know who he is on the inside, well more than he lets on, anyway.. Well, I mean Jimmy for his 2nd godfather, but you know what I mean."_

"_Guess you'd better talk to Tony then, huh?"_

_Tim breathed out a sigh of frustrated resignation. "Yeah. You're right. Okay, I'll talk to him tonight.."_

" _C'mon. Back to work."_

"_Right. Thanks, Boss."_

"_No problem, McGee. Just don't try to shoulder this alone. You need help with something, you'd better ask. I find out you didn't and you'll be dealing with me about it."_

"_I promise to ask for help when I need it. Don't worry. I know I can't do it by myself, Boss."_

_The day vanished in a whirlwind of case work and before he knew it, the team was sitting around the boss' backyard deck, enjoying the night air and verbally working through the game plan to fully prepare the team, not just Tim, for baby Christopher's arrival. Tim had surprised them all by asking to speak to them as a group._

"_I've given this a lot of thought and strange as this may sound, it's not the first time I've ever thought about it anyway. I've thought about what I'd do about this if and when I ever have a child in the future. Well, now that future is here and I've got some things I need to ask of you. I've already asked Gibbs and he's agreed to be my son's honorary Grandfather and now, Ducky, I'm asking you if you'd consider doing the same. He'll be the luckiest kid in the world with two honorary grandfathers as well as my father as his grandfather by blood."_

"_Timothy, I'd be honored."_

"_No, Ducky. I'm the one who feels honored. Trust me. Thank you."_

"_Godparents! Tim he's gonna need godparents!" Abby exclaimed excitedly._

"_Yeah, Abbs. I was getting to that point." He grinned. "I know lots of people who have two sets of godparents so I thought I'd ask Ziva, you, Jimmy and Tony if you'd be willing to be that for my son. I'm thinking you could also be his honorary aunts and uncles."_

"_Yes, McGee."_

_"Of course, Timmy!"_

_"Wow, Yes, I'd be honored, Tim"_

_"Sure, Probie."_

_Although the answers came back quickly, Tim noticed Tony's lacked enthusiasm and he knew that the older man had picked up on the order in which Tim had stated his friends' names. Knowing Tony, Tim knew he was probably feeling kicked in the gut since he hadn't figured out what was playing on Tim's mind yet. Well, that needed to be fixed right here and now_.

"_Tony, can I talk to you for a minute?"_

"_Sure," Tony answered as he got up and followed Tim out to the backyard away from the group._

"_Tony, I need you to understand why I said your name last. I know you're gonna act like it's no big deal. But, I do have my reasons and I need you to understand them."_

"_You really don't want me to be your kid's godfather, I get it, Probie." Tony came back instantly._

"_NO! Listen to me, please, Tony! I do want you to be his godfather. But, I have to do what's best for my son and asking you to change overnight isn't best for him or fair to you."_

"_Probie, what the hell are you talking about?"_

"_Your reputation has long preceded you, Tony. We all know that. It's something you've always bragged about. I can't ask you to change but I can't have it come up as a reason I don't get custody of my son, either." Tim answered painfully. "I'm sorry."_

_Tony swallowed hard as Tim's words hit home. "No, Tim. I'm sorry. I get it. Really. And you're right. You should handle this stuff carefully so nothing messes this up for you. C'mon, let's get back to the others."_

_As Tony and Tim returned to the group, Tim noticed Gibbs was missing. "Where's the boss?"_

"_He said he needed to run out for something." Abby said quietly._

"_Something wrong?" Tony asked._

"_Well, yeah. Guys! You know this has gotta be rough on him!" Abby said tearfully._

"_Uhm, Yeah, guys. About that? Gibbs told me earlier today after he head slapped me when he knew I was worried about him; to stop comparing this to his situation and to stop looking back. We need to heed that, because I think all of our constant worrying about him is what's keeping it fresh for him. We're hurting him by trying so hard not to hurt him."_

"_Well said, Timothy." Ducky said quietly as he sat amongst them._

_"Thanks, Ducky. He also made me promise not to go this alone. Told me if I ever needed help and didn't ask someone on the team for help, I'd have him to deal with about it."_

_Snickering all the way around lightened the mood and suddenly Tony had a question. "So, McDaddy, how come you keep calling him your son and not Christopher?" _

"_Yeah, about that. I'm not sure if I should be giving him a new name or letting him keep that one."_

"_I think that would depend on why you wish to change his name, Timothy." Ducky surmised. "Perhaps if the foster parents are the ones who chose that name for him you might consider giving them the gift of leaving their chosen name for him in place?"_

"_Yeah. I agree, Ducky. I guess I'll have to find out who chose his name before I decide that. Okay, so I guess now it's time to start looking for a bigger place to live. I'm thinking I should look at small houses instead of an apartment."_

"_Probie, if you have enough of that windfall left from your book, you could buy a damn house instead of renting it, probably for the same monthly hit to your paycheck, if you put enough of a deposit down." Tony reminded him._

"_You know, what, Tony? You're right!"_

"_Oh, Timothy, that would take a while. What with inspections and closing delays and such."_

"_Not necessarily." Gibbs spoke from the doorway. "Tim. Meet the answer to your problem. Jack Spencer."_

"_Mr. Spencer. Tim McGee. Nice to meet you. Boss? The answer to my problem?"_

"_I live two houses down across the street and I'm needing to quick-sell my house, I mean, it's been on the market for six months now and I just can't wait any longer. I really need it sold yesterday. There's nothing wrong with it; most people who've looked at just don't like being this close to downtown D.C. or wind up backing out because they found something closer to a school or something. Jethro, here, says that's exactly what you're in need of; a nice house and quickly."_

"_Wow, that's good work, even for you, Boss!" Tony gloated as he stood still for the expected head-slap._

"_You think, DiNozzo?" the boss growled as he stepped back from administering the trademark punishment for Tony's smart mouth even as Jack's mouth dropped to the floor in shock._

_Tim chuckled. "Relax, Mr. Spencer. That's typical of this team. So, when would be a good time for me to come see your house?"_

"_Now's as good a time as any." Jack answered as he shook his head in bemusement at Tim's offhanded acceptance of his team's antics._

"_That would be great. Thank you. Guys, I'll be right back."_

"_What? You don't want us to come with you?" Abby asked in surprise._

"_Abbs, you're asking the wrong person." Tim reminded her gently._

"_I don't mind. C'mon." Jack said with a smile._

_As the team bundled up against the cold and walked the short distance over to Jack's house, Gibbs found himself walking with only Ducky to talk to._

"_What's on your mind, Duck?"_

"_Something tells me you orchestrated this deliberately, Jethro." The M.E. admitted._

"_I might have had a little to do with it. Tim needs a house with enough room to raise his son and since he's asked both of us to be a part of the kid's life, it makes sense for him to move closer to us while he's moving anyway, don't you think?"_

'_Yes, well, I have to admit this certainly does have merit to it. Still, I have to wonder, Jethro, if you don't have some other ulterior motive in mind. _

"_Just doin' what I can to let him see that he is good enough to be a father to his son, Duck. If helping him move closer to everyone on the team accomplishes that, who am I to not help that happen?"_

"_Yes, I suppose you're right. Jethro."_

_"Besides, wasn't even my idea."_

_"Oh?"_

_"Nope. Have to admit it's a damn good one though."_

_"Just who's idea was this, my friend?"_

_"Can't tell ya, sworn to secrecy." Gibbs admitted with a sly smile. "Don't look at me like that, I'm just doin' what I can to help a family I care about, out, Duck."_

_"Mmm-mmm."_

_"C'mon, the others are already here." The Team Leader dodged the conversational bullet by opening the door to the house as they reached it__._

_"Alright then, let's take a look, shall we?" Ducky gave in with a smile._

_The house was just what Tim needed with three bedrooms, a study and even a nicely fenced in backyard. The garage connected to the house and there was plenty of storage space as well. Tim felt his spirits soar and suddenly he couldn't wait to get moved. _

"_Wow! This is perfect for me!" Tim exclaimed. "This is perfect for a growing boy, too."_

_He was almost tempted to ask for the next 2 weeks off from work just to get it done in time. But, he stood firm on his convictions that he start learning how to make this parenthood thing work even with the job he had. After all, he certainly wasn't the first parent that had to fit moving around their job._

**_**NCIS***_**

_And so the remainder of the last two weeks had been spent in packing and moving for the guys while Abby and Ziva had gladly taken Tim's credit cards and done the baby shopping for him, with the exception of the baby's furniture. With a quiet directive from the boss, that had been left alone. Soon, diapers, and clothes and toys, wallpaper and play mats for carpets, bottles and bottle cleaning kits, first aid kits and every other thing they could think of for raising a baby found its' way to Tim's new house. _

_The transfer of home ownership from Jack to Tim had been quick and painless, less painless than the move turned out to be but soon all was done and Tim was moved in to his new place. The only thing he remained worried about was the dog. Gibbs had solved that problem by taking Jethro to his house and letting him get comfortable there Ms. Cotten did a thorough walk-through in Tim's place._

"_Wow. Tim. You've done a wonderful job finding a suitable home and getting settled in already. The baby's room looks absolutely divine and I don't see that anything's been overlooked. I can see you already have a supply of cabinet and door safety locks and baby gates. The time limit for the birth mother to change her mind is tomorrow and barring that deadline, everything else is set. If she doesn't contact us by five o'clock pm, Christopher will be placed in your custody and all you'll have to do is sign the paperwork in front of the judge and this will all be done with. Now, I've pulled some strings and found a judge who has agreed to be available and waiting for us at the courthouse at 5:15 PM tomorrow."_

"_Wow. A week early. That's great! Thank you!" _

_"You're quite welcome, young man. I have to say that I've never had so much pleasure placing a child in a home as I've had watching this come about. You should be very proud of yourself, Tim."_

_"No. I couldn't have done it alone." Tim denied as he looked around at his team. _

_**Thwack**_

Tim smiled. "Thanks, Boss. But I'm serious. There's no way I could have done this without you and the rest of the team. And the only way that happened was because you convinced me I was wrong to think the team wouldn't help me."

"Wait! You thought we wouldn't help you?" Tony asked incredulously. "Probie, I oughta s…"

"DiNozzo!" Gibbs barked.

"Right. Sorry, Boss. Ma'am. Probie, you and me are gonna talk about this later." Tony warned as he huffed out a breath and pulled himself back together.

"Well, I can certainly see why you were able to pull this together so quickly. I must be going, but I'll see you at the courthouse?"

"We'll be there." The team answered in unison, drawing a smile from Ms. Cotton.


	6. Epilogue

The papers had been signed and Christopher was Tim's. He had a son and was a father to the happy little baby that now sat in the car seat. With a happy sigh, Tim leaned round and adjusted the blanket over the baby and smiled at the content, sleep lax face.

"McGee, it's warm enough in here. If the blanket slips, leave it be." Gibbs growled quietly from where he was driving. Tim turned back in his seat and caught the soft smile that graced the boss' face. "Besides, he's happy. You'd know if he wasn't."

"I guess. I just want to know that I can do right by him. It's not just the big things ,Boss, it's the little things as well. Making sure he's warm; fed; clean…everything. It's up to me now and you know what, I don't feel scared anymore. Now I have him, I want to do all that. I want to see him grow and I want to protect him. I love him so much already."

"I know you do, Tim. I think he's wormed his way in to everyone's hearts." Gibbs smiled at the memory of excited chatter from each of the team when they'd come back from visiting with Tim.

"Boss, I might need help." Tim admitted ruefully and smiled when Gibbs pulled into the driveway of his new house. The outside was decked out with blue balloons and a big 'Welcome home Christopher' banner above the door.

Tim gazed at everyone piling out of the front door with grins on the faces of his NCIS family members and, surprisingly enough, his own family who hadn't whispered a word of their arrival to him. With a smile on his face, he looked at the boss, who's own grin gave his part in this away.

"You knew my family would be here?"

"Somebody had to help them move in next door, don't cha think?"

"Mov… in?" Tim asked in shock as he watched the lot of them barely hold themselves back from swarming the car to get to a peek at the precious bundle in the backseat.

"I think you've got that help you're needin', Tim. Both of ya." Gibbs smirked at his agent.

Tim felt his heart lift as he returned a grateful smile. "You know what, Boss. I think we do. Christopher's gonna have plenty of family to love him."

FINIS


End file.
